The present invention relates to a microphone retriever capable of being mounted between a stationary microphone holder and a microphone of the hand-held type and arranged to return the microphone to a predetermined storage position after completion of a communication.
It has long been a common practice for aircraft to be equipped with two-way communication equipment which, in smaller aircraft, is used by the pilot. In addition, the installation of two-way communication equipment in ground vehicles is becoming ever more common. Such equipment has long been used in the cabs of tractor-trailers and in taxis. More recently, the use of CB equipment in private automobiles has been increasing at a substantial rate.
Most two-way communication equipment used in vehicles includes a hand-held microphone for voice transmission. In order to transmit, the user of the equipment must take the microphone from a holder mounted on the radio housing or on the vehicle dashboard, and upon completion of transmission the microphone must be placed back onto the holder.
Whenever the user of the two-way communication equipment is also guiding the vehicle, the action of returning the microphone to its holder while the vehicle is in motion will constitute a distraction that prevents the user from paying full attention to control of the vehicle, thereby increasing the possibility of an accident. In view of the significant rate at which the number of CB units in private automobiles is increasing, and the practice of users of this equipment to conduct conversations while driving at high speeds on crowded highways, as well as within congested urban areas, it will be readily appreciated that the possibilities of accidents resulting directly from such distraction of the driver constitute a problem of increasing seriousness.